The Federal Government, through the Minister of Youth Development, Jamila Bio-Ibrahim, addressed concerns about the possibility of increasing the monthly allowance for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members.
Appearing on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Bio-Ibrahim acknowledged the challenges posed by food inflation and the general rise in the cost of living across the nation.
She emphasized that while there are no immediate plans to raise the allowance, the government is committed to finding innovative solutions to ensure the welfare of corps members.
She said, “We can’t say for sure, we all understand that resources are dwindling, even oil revenues are not as they used to be but we will find innovative ways of ensuring that corps members’ welfare is taken of. ”
Despite these challenges, she reassured that efforts are underway to explore alternative means of supporting corps members’ welfare needs.
Bio-Ibrahim’s comments come against the backdrop of the previous allowance increase announced by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2020.
The allowance was raised from N19,000 to N33,000, following the signing of the new minimum wage bill into law in April 2019. However, the current economic landscape and fiscal realities have made it uncertain whether a similar adjustment will occur in the near future.
Furthermore, the minister highlighted ongoing reforms within the NYSC scheme aimed at transforming it into a revenue-generating agency.
The government intends to leverage the potential of the NYSC to contribute to national development while also addressing the welfare needs of corps members.
She said, “When it comes to remuneration and looking totally at the holistic funding of the NYSC, we have announced a reform of the NYSC scheme itself. So, we want the scheme to go beyond that social programme of government to be that revenue-generating scheme and agency.
“The reforms which transform the NYSC into a revenue-generating agency and prepare the corps members for the job market and to be decently and gainfully employed or to be employers of labour through entrepreneurship and of course, perfect matching into primary assignment and all the support they need in that career path.”
Ada Peter
